I think if i don't count Madara and Pain i think there are my list.

1.Jiraya/Kakashi
We can see Jiraya got mastered Sage Mode and summons big toads wich are deadly in fight. And Kakashi master over 1000 jutsus (He should be kage) and his Mangekyo Sharingan got powerful jutsu/s.

2.Gaara
He can control a lot of sand (When fight Deidara he cover whole village with sand) so i think he can meybe defeat Naruto if Naruto wouldn't be in Kyuubi Mode.
3.Naruto
As we can see he master Sage Mode too and S-rank tehnique Rasenshuriken and other sutff example if he use Shadow Clones he can summon 'em over thousand.

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"Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

http://www.urakai.com/ndb3/158-159.png

1.Hashirama Senju(the First Hokage)
He was noted by Madara Uchiha like most powerful ninja of his time, and was easily one of the strongest shinobi of all time.
His prowess and abilities were so great that he was able to not only fight on equal footing with Madara despite the power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and having the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox by his side but also survived the battle and gained victory in the end.

2.Madara Uchiha
He is thought to be the strongest Uchiha to ever live, and one of the most gifted ninja in history.Even the Nine-Tails mentioned that Madara's chakra is even more sinister than its own.

P.S.:I'm not talking about Tobi I'm talking about Madara Uchiha

3.Minato Namikaze(4th Hokage)

According to Jiraiya, Minato was the strongest shinobi who ever lived.The most of the people are saying that he is the strongest hokage but in my opinion he isn't becouse he couldn't beat the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and "the man with the mask" like he said.



4.Jiraiya

Jiraiya was an immensely powerful ninja, being considered Kage-level.His strength was so great that even Itachi Uchiha, a master of the Sharingan and one of Akatsuki's most powerful members, opted not to face him in battle.He died in the battle with Pain but Pein stated at the end of the battle, if Jiraiya knows his secrets, Jiraiya would win the battle. Therefore, it is clear enough to say that Jiraiya is one of the strongest shinobi ever.

5.Itachi Uchiha

Itachi was shown to be an incredibly powerful ninja, as demonstrated by his ability to easily defeat the likes of Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Orochimaru. Despite his pride in his abilities, Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi's partner in Akatsuki, acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the two. Even Tobi said that Itachi never ceased to amaze him.He was a genius in fight.A full member of the Anbu Black Ops Unit at the age of 12, he is naturally gifted and considered a true genius. His genjutsu techniques are unrivaled.

6.Kakashi
His skill and cunning are repeatedly shown to be great enough to hold his own against seemingly any opponent. Even Pain, an extremely dangerous ninja, viewed Kakashi's skills as capable of impeding his plans if he did not get rid of Kakashi first. He is also considered a prime candidate for the position of Hokage by a number of characters.In Part I, he was unable to keep up with Itachis hysical and hand seal speed, even with the use of his Sharingan. By Part II, he is able to keep up with Itachi's immense speed, if not match it

7.Danzo

Although he normally appears to be a frail old man, Danzō is an extremely powerful ninja. He has been shown using several powerful techniques that are either rare or forbidden. He is a proficient swordsman, being skilled enough to easily kill several would-be-assassins single-handedly. In addition, Danzō is capable of dispelling Genjutsu as powerful as Tsukuyomi; an impressive feat, though the technique has yet to be fully perfected by Sasuke.

8.Nagato/Pain

The only one to posses the Rinnegan "Pupils of the Six Paths".,He knocked down and killed Hanzou,kage of the rain village on his own,he also done the same thing with the top-level shinobi like jiraiya and kakashi with less effortHe was an extraordinarily powerful shinobi. His partner, Konan, had stated that he had never lost a single battle, and that he is "unbeatable."

9.Sasuke Uchiha

Tobi Itachi, and Orochimaru have stated that Sasuke possesses the unique potential to become much stronger than Itachi and the latter even saying that Sasuke is stronger than he was at the same age, when he was training Sasuke in Part II of the story.By Part II, he develops much of his potential and becomes a very powerful ninja, strong enough to fight evenly against and defeat ninja like Orochimaru, Deidara and Itachi. Sasuke was also capable of holding against at least two Kage and their bodyguards all by himself before being overpowered by further battling with other Kage and opponents.He broke out of Itachi's Tsukuyomi, first time we saw that happening.

10.Hiruzen Sarutobi(3rd hokage)

Hiruzen was one of the most powerful shinobi in history. In fact, he was so immensely powerful that he was admired as the God of Shinobi. According to Iruka, he was said to be the strongest Hokage Konoha ever had.

After them:
Naruto
Kakuzu
Kisame etc.

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I'm werry suprised......i change my mind..i love your theories. But we can say that Sage of the Sixth Path is strongest ninja he's feeared like God of Shinobi and Saviour of this World.

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"Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

http://www.urakai.com/ndb3/158-159.png

Pein is the the most overrated Akatsuki member. While he is beastly, his abilities are very situational and easy to exploit once you know them.I don't know why some people are saying that he is stronger from Tobi and Itachi."I am a god" should be changed to "We are fail".

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I think he wasn't ever shown to his true potential. He used a style that worked well against people who didn't know his attacks. but the main ability of the rinnegan was being able to use any element and any jutsu. Jaraiya even said by age 12 he mastered all the elements. I think if he knew naruto had intel on him he wouldn't have fought the way he did. then again maybe his body was to frail (did it ever explain why he was in that contraption? I don't remember if he was sick or if it was just a way to more easily control the six bodies)

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His summon did that to him, every great jutsu carries a risk, a great summon is no exception.

I don't think he is that overrated, to kill most of konoha by himself is a feat not even Tobi-Madara (with the Kyubi) and Orochimaru (with the sound ninja) made but it's your opinion of course!

Jiraiya could use Sage Mode but never really mastered it, that's why he had to do it with mom and pa'. . . .

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?

They help him to do it???

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"Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

http://www.urakai.com/ndb3/158-159.png

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?

He isn't that overrated but Tobi and Itachi are stronger from him.He killed a lot of people in Konoha becouse Tsunade isnt very strong hokage,like minato and Hiruzen.

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1. Pain

2. Gaara

3. Naruto

4. Madara

5. Jiraiya

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I think that Madara is the strongest, because he (maybe) survived a fight against the First, and was feared by the Fourth !

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?

Then we can say that for Kakuzu too he battle 1st.

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"Those that break the rules and regulations are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

http://www.urakai.com/ndb3/158-159.png

Yeah, and Kakazu is really strong too ! He survived against the First, and can use all elements !

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?

agree

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If Kakuzu survived the battle against the 1st hokage that don't makes him one of the strongest ,probability the wound on 1st hokage after the fight with Madara were too great. But I agree he is very strong he will be in my list of top 20 strongest carachters.

Here is my list of top 10 strongest charachters in the storyline(without the 1st and 4th hokage):

1.Madara(if he is alive)
2.itachi/jiraiya
4.Kakashi
5.Sasuke(he is made to be the strongest)
6.Pain
7.Danzo
8.Naruto
9.Orochimaru
10.Tsunade
11.Kakuzu
12.Kisame etc

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Why is Sasuke made to be the strongest ? o: (EDIT) But, I think Naruto will shine soon ! He will become very strong, and I really hope it will happen soon !

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?

Kishi made him to be the strongest.

Here is some facts:
Danzo:
Kishi made Danzou a beast. Uchiha + Senju DNA. Mokuton and 10 Izanagi. Summons. Seals. Mega fuuton.Sasuke beat this freak, making him the strongest single person in this manga.

Itachi:
Itachi was the strongest charachter in the databook.Even Akatsuki leader(Tobi)showed that he is afraid from Itachi when he said:"with Itachi dead-there is no one else troubling me,so much for I won't tach Konoha" and Sasuke killed him.
Like we know Itachi didn't wanna kill Sasuke.But in this fight we saw Itachi's sasanoo for first time.Also He Sasuke the first who broke out of Itachi's Tsukuyomi.

Also he killed deidara unlike:Kakashi,Naruto and Gaara.
He killed Orochimaru unlike:Itachi,Naruto,3rd hokage,tsunade and jiraiya.
He defeated Kilerbee unlike Kisame
He defeated Naruto
He fought all 5 kages and he survived.

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All right, you are right. . .

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How can I ever be Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?
Isn't that right Sasuke?